An Early Addition Original Ending
by cloudsophie
Summary: The original ending to my story An Early Addition. The story follows directly from the end of chapter 23 in that story.
1. Chapter 24

Christmas at Longbourn went on with all of its normal extravagances and gaiety – or so Mrs Bennet planned, and of course, what activities she had planned for went ahead, regardless of the feelings of any of the rest of the household – even when that included Mrs Bennet herself.

Indeed, it seemed that nothing could please her so well as to enumerate and reiterate the wrongs which had been done to her and her daughters by Mr Bingley, Mr Darcy and the rest of the party who had so recently kept them company.

Madeline Gardiner – to whom the majority of such outbursts were directed – listened patiently enough, but quickly sought out her eldest nieces to find their opinions. Somehow though, she couldn't help but notice that Jane and Lizzy both fixed their smiles a little too strongly, and were far too hasty to demur from the topic. Neither did Mrs Gardiner have a great deal of spare time to talk to them, for Mrs Bennet kept the house filled with a whirlwind of amusements and guests. When they were not receiving, they were most frequently visiting, and all in all Mrs Gardiner hardly knew what to think.

At least, she could tell that Lizzy and Jane were affected by the mention of the gentlemen, for they both did their best to leave the room when their mother began one of her rants. And more, she was in possession of letters from the pair of women which highlighted the affection they had evidently felt. Nonetheless, Mrs Gardiner felt hopelessly ill-informed.

Had she had the fortune to overhear the pair late some evenings, before they properly retired, she might have known better. But the knowledge would not have soothed her spirits.

Lizzy had been trying to pretend that it wasn't an issue – that she wasn't affected at all by the desertion of the gentlemen. But that was a lie. She knew what must have happened – how could she not? And she cursed herself all the more for how her actions had hurt her own sister. Lady Catherine de Bourgh must have gone to London – must have seen Mr Darcy – and persuaded him that she was an unsuitable connection. She could hardly deny herself that that was possibly true – to herself she could honestly admit her lack of understanding and practice – how could she hope to control to be mistress of such a grand estate as Pemberley? Georgiana had described its wonders in depth, and now that knowledge seemed less pleasing than it had before. Before she had been content to believe it a lovely home for her friend, but now she could only think of it with dread.

How could she, a country nobody, be expected to be accepted in society alongside Mr Darcy? She would bring shame to their family name – and Lizzy knew well enough that that was one of the most important things to him.

But when Lady Catherine had said those hateful things – what could Lizzy have been expected to say? She didn't react well to bullies – she never had. Any attempts to intimidate her were quickly foiled – it was the way she had always been. She had thought that Mr Darcy proud, but he was no more proud than she was. She couldn't let anyone show her up.

And now he would never return – because if he were to return, he would feel himself bound by the offer he had made before, that he would await her answer to his proposal of a courtship. He would be bound by the expectations he had laid before – he would never go back on his word. Of that she was certain.

No doubt Mr Bingley had learnt of Mr Darcy's refusal to return, and felt unequal to come back without his friend's approval – for Mr Bingley was a good enough friend to care for such things. Without Darcy by his side, and encouraged to remain in London by his sisters – for Jane had received a missive from Miss Bingley noting both men's intention to stay there, and Lizzy could only imagine that was Miss Bingley's intention all along – it could hardly be surprising that the amiable man had not returned. Elizabeth still had hopes that he would come back – for Jane's sake. Jane didn't deserve that pain – especially not when she and Mr Bingley were so perfect for one another.

Georgiana had of course been a faithful confidant – or so far as Lizzy could tell. No letter had reached her since Georgiana's first missive when she arrived in town – but the weather had been poor, and Georgie had never exactly said how often she intended to write. The girl had headed straight to her aunt and uncle – Colonel Fitzwilliam's parents. Georgiana had written that her cousin had taken her there directly, knowing how much Lady Fitzwilliam had longed to see her niece and that she had been happy to agree to the plan, since she expected her brother to remain in London for so short a period.

Georgie had even bid Lizzy pass on Georgiana's direction to Mr Darcy, clearly expecting Lizzy to see him before any of Georgie's letters would. That letter had kept Lizzy's hopes up for at least a week. But even that couldn't last – Georgiana, it appeared, had been too naive and too hopeful for a sister. She had written so fondly of her brother too – of how his sense of duty must have delayed his return, and that Lizzy absolutely couldn't give up hope.

Elizabeth couldn't help but read over those parts. The most terrible part of the entire affair was that she had only realised how great a man he truly was, now that he had left and that she would likely never see him again. She was sure she had known that all along – but it was a painful thing to only realise her own heart the moment that its desires were all for naught.

Jane had been honest with herself all the way through – she had confided that much. Jane had half hoped – or perhaps it was more of a dream - that Mr Bingley would have proposed to her, when he had requested his courtship. She went back on that now of course – but Lizzy couldn't help but hug her sister all the more tightly for it. Jane feared that her heartbreak would have been even greater had she had a taste of that joy.

Lizzy wasn't sure she could disagree with her sister.

Mrs Gardiner, of course, couldn't have been expected to read her nieces innermost thoughts – and so she continued in her efforts to get one of them alone. This meant that when Jane made some vague comment about Meryton, Madeline was quick to leap upon the opportunity and encourage the eldest Bennet for them to head out. The cold weather discouraged the youngest three Bennets from joining them, and Lizzy had already disappeared on one of her normal rambles. Madeline could only hope that she would find some time to talk with Elizabeth at some later point.

And so it occurred that when the carriage drew up before the house, only Lydia and Kitty were present to note it. And though the elder might have felt it was her duty to let their mother know of the arrival, Lydia impetuousness overruled her thought – and Kitty was left trailing her younger sister as she ran out of the house, pre-empting their guests' attempts to enter.

The carriage was odd, mainly because neither Lydia nor Kitty recognised its herald. While that deterred Kitty, she was trying to learn some of Lydia's bravery and so when her sister didn't move, she did her best to hide her own discomfort and stood too, waiting for the door of the carriage to open.

Kitty was certain she wouldn't have predicted its occupants but Lydia showed no surprise as the pair of gentlemen appeared, the first with his characteristic bouncing energy and the latter with his ubiquitous frown. If anything, Lydia's chin seemed to rise as she saw them.

Kitty found it hard to even meet their eyes.

"Miss Catherine, Miss Lydia!" Bingley – Lydia couldn't force herself to dignify him with the title of "Mr" when he had caused so much pain to her sisters – practically beamed the greeting. "It has been too long."

"Indeed." Beside her, Kitty curtsied politely; Lydia waited a moment more before she did the same. It was Mr Darcy's expression that forced her to do so. There was something beneath his scowl that Lydia couldn't help but notice – a strange agitation.

"And are your sisters about?" Bingley tried again, his joviality seeming to become a little strained. "And are they well? – not that your company is unwanted, or that your health is unimportant..."

"It depends, on whom you mean." Lydia couldn't help but smile with her deliberately unhelpful words. "My sister Mary has been in excellent health – and she is within, practicing the Pianoforte. Miss Darcy seemed to believe that she could one day rival Miss Bingley's playing, and Mary has been even more diligent in her practice ever since."

"Miss Lydia..." It was Darcy who uttered the quiet question. His voice lacked much of its normal might. Lydia quickly glanced at Kitty – she wanted to be sure she was doing the right thing after all. She had been known to be too thoughtless before after all.

Kitty's eyes urged her to tell the truth, a look of pity for the two gentlemen in her features.

"Jane has gone to Meryton with my Aunt – she should be back within the next half hour if not sooner." That was primarily directed to Bingley, he seemed to relax slightly at the information. "Lizzy went out walking this morning as is her custom – but her walks have been quite unpredictable recently, so I really have no idea when she might return."

Darcy's frown only grew more pronounced. Still, Lydia wasn't entirely ready to admit either of them into the house – not that that should be her decision. But who else was there to protect her sisters? Their mother would not – she would be too delighted that the men had appeared in the first place – and their father, for all that he was paying more attention to them now, was still not exactly the epitome of what a perfect father should be.

"And now that that is sorted, I must ask you what your intentions are."

Both men paled noticeably.

"For you see, I cannot even contemplate letting you near my sisters if you intend to hurt them again."

Kitty couldn't help but admire the stern look that Lydia met them with. It hadn't even occurred to her that either of the gentlemen would have arrived for any purpose other than to reconcile with the respective one of her sisters. Perhaps that just showed that she was just as naive as her sister seemed to think. Somehow that thought didn't comfort Kitty overmuch. Surely having faith in other people wasn't such a bad thing?

It was bad enough that Lydia was being deliberately obstructive surely? They needn't punish the men further?

Except of course in the instance that Lydia was right, and that Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy hadn't come to make amends with Jane and Lizzy. How could either of them live with themselves if they opened up Jane and Lizzy to such ridicule? Such pain?

Mr Bingley had paled considerably, his features etched with unusual clarity upon his face. That combined with Mr Darcy's unsteadiness and stern looks didn't help Kitty feel any better. In truth, she was beginning to feel quite faint – at least Lydia was saving her from having to speak.

"No!" Mr Bingley seemed to regain his wits with his friend's harsh and sudden word. "That is, we do not intend to jilt your sisters – if that is your fear." Mr Darcy had almost flushed at the attention his words had got him. Kitty absently wondered what could cause such a man such discomfort, but her attention was swiftly drawn away, by Bingley's sudden stuttering.

"I mean, that is, have you not heard – did you not... did my sister not send word?" He frowned, an odd expression for one normally so happy. "How could you believe that we would think to do such a thing...?"

"Perhaps it was your absence which lasted the duration you claimed, four times over." Lydia made no attempts to hold her ire in. "Or perhaps it was the fact that you retired to town and enjoyed in the great company there and were intending to stay the entire season? Or perhaps it was the slow way that you made my sisters believe that you would never return!"

"I ... we..." Mr Bingley looked helplessly at his friend for a second, seeming rather intimidated by Lydia's fierce frown.

"Your apologies and excuses shouldn't be directed to us." Kitty found the quiet words escaping her without much forethought. Suddenly she had all of the attention her sister had held so well. "I believe it is my sisters to whom you should speak."

"In which case, may I ask to wait inside? I feel we should pay your parents their due by acknowledging their hospitality." Mr Darcy's voice was curt, but Kitty strove not to take offence. If he was Lizzy's choice, who was she to judge?

Lydia, for her part, snorted. "You don't want mamma's attention if you can help it." Both Bingley and Darcy seemed surprised by her forwardness – even though she had been significantly more forward before.

"And besides," Kitty said softly. "You needn't wait – Lizzy has been wandering behind the house for the past while, and she will continue to do so no doubt. She likes to think outdoors..." Mr Darcy's eyes lit up with what Kitty could only describe as hope. It was that which spurred her on. "If Mr Bingley would be so kind as to act as your chaperone -" Bingley nodded his assent at the idea "- I believe you may see her now, and we will endeavour to give you some time alone."

The men bowed their thanks – Darcy setting off, before Bingley had much time to say anything at all.

"One of us will keep an eye on you through the window however." Lydia announced loudly, before sighing dramatically and turning back to Kitty. "We should have made them pay penance for longer. Lizzy and Jane never will."

Kitty smiled wryly, thinking of both of her sisters' stubborn temperaments. "I wouldn't count on it."

.

Jane for her part was in a hurry. So much so that she barely paid attention to the gossip that was spreading around her, or the looks that her hastiness was causing her. Mrs Gardiner saw more – but understood very little of it – she didn't have the context her niece would have had to immediately discern what was going on.

Besides, Madeline was significantly more worried about Jane. One second Jane had been calm, and then she had noted one of the letters addressed to her, that they had appropriated off the messenger who had been about to bear them to Longbourn, and had torn it open.

The fast perusal of it, and Jane's changing features were almost too much for Madeline to understand, and it took all that she could do to keep up with her niece as the younger woman muttered about how they had to hurry and walked at a pace that would rival even Lizzy's determined motion.

"Jane? For heaven's sake, what is the matter?"

Jane finally stopped and looked at her aunt without comprehension, as though the cause of her sudden walk should have been obvious. "I must get back – what will Lizzy say? I need to..." she drifted off in anxious thought before turning back, smiling as though she had made far more sense than she had. Jane, of course, would have never deliberately caused offense by her curt speech.

"What was in the letter?" Mrs Gardiner tried once more. "What has caused you to come out of countenance so?"

Wordlessly, Jane passed over the short missive.


	2. Chapter 25

Lizzy angrily brushed the hair out of her face again.

In truth, it was somewhat too blustery for her to have walked and the air was slightly too cold to be comfortable. Still, she hadn't been able to stay in the house any longer. She hadn't been able to walk so much as she would have liked recently and she'd found it hard not to try to run like she had as a child as soon as she was outdoors.

She hadn't of course – she was far too refined now to do such a thing. Children were excused failings that adults were not.

And so she had returned to the house – as a dutiful daughter ought – and then stopped. And found herself utterly incapable of facing her mother. Of facing anyone. So she had instead disappeared back into their gardens and wandered around instead. After all, there could be no harm in that. She was near enough to the house that she would be able to come quickly if anything of import happened.

And that was all that truly mattered, was it not?

"Miss Elizabeth!" The ever cheerful voice sounded so out of place amidst her thoughts, that it was all Elizabeth could do to not jump at the words, but instead to turn around and paste a smile on her face.

"Mr Bingley." Her eyes had barely alighted upon him before she realised that he was there too. It then took almost unknown depths of self control for her to stop herself from gaping, or crying, or expressing any of the multitudes of emotions that passed through her in that instant and instead to turn and smile sweetly and greet him with equal grace. "Mr Darcy." Another second passed, an interminable moment or so it felt to her. Did he look vastly different? She spoke to distract herself as much as anything else. "I did not realise you had returned to Netherfield."

"We only arrived this morning." Mr Bingley still spoke with the same joviality, the same hints of easy smiles – although for once he seemed as affected by the awkwardness of the situation as she was. "We came here as soon as we could..."

That left no doubt in Lizzy's mind that Mr Bingley intended to reconcile with Jane – although why he would be here instead of with her she couldn't tell.

"Your younger sisters told us we could find you here – and that your elder sister has gone to Meryton with your aunt. I hope you don't mind us interrupting your solitude?"

"Not at all." Elizabeth hardly marked the words which came out of her own mouth. Why wouldn't he speak? She knew that he was looking at her – it was with another of those impossible expressions – so veiled, but simultaneously meaningful, that it was almost impossible to decipher.

"Well..." Mr Bingley cast his eyes between the pair of them a couple of times. "I think I shall look at some of these marvellous flowers, but I daresay you have things to speak of – I am sure I shall hear none of it." If it weren't for the warm smile Bingley cast Lizzy as he left, she wasn't sure that she wouldn't have been able to hold herself together at all.

She barely understood herself. How could she be so weak and foolish?

A moment or two passed in silence as Mr Bingley picked his way a distance from them – near enough to still be a chaperone and yet far enough that they could claim some privacy. If only Lizzy knew that privacy was what she wanted, instead of this unease. They were being utterly bizarre and unreasonable – that thought startled her into action – a small smile reminiscent of her father's challenging smirk wended its way across her features.

"Are we to speak sir? Or shall we continue to look impassively at one another until someone else interrupts us?"

The words seemed to startle him into some semblance of mind – almost as though he had been lost in thought only moments before. Suddenly his face had interest in it again – although it maintained its moderate pallor. Lizzy couldn't help but fear that that somehow was a result of her presence.

"I... understand that my aunt came to see you?" The words were spoken in his slow deliberate way, that Lizzy had eventually realised were due to his desire to say exactly what he meant. Still the effect had her struggling for breath. But she refused to let that show; she had pride enough to not let him see how much his words affected her.

"She did." Truth to tell, Lizzy had always assumed that if she ever had a chance to discuss this with him it would have been in far more favourable circumstances.

"I must apologise for what she said to you – she came to see me – I gather she said many things that she ought not..."

"But did she say anything that was untrue?" Elizabeth hadn't meant to say it. That had been what she had been wondering about for the past weeks of course, but she had had no intention to mention that to him. If he was to jilt her – as she had no doubt he would, his aunt had made that situation utterly clear – she wouldn't make it harder for him. Not when he had come back to tell her to her face, and brought Bingley back to Jane.

She couldn't even look at him as she waited for his response. She was too scared her eyes would simply reflect the pain she was trying to conceal.

"You disagreed with her, did you not?" he almost sounded agitated. Lizzy found herself looking to him in confusion. "She was most displeased by that – she would hardly speak of anything else."

Elizabeth tried to find the words to apologise for that. She had tried to be polite to the woman and to treat her with deference and respect. But it had been impossible. Who could bow down to such an affront? Her pride would not allow it, nor could she truly regret her words. She would have said them again if she had had another chance.

Perhaps it was for the best then that her words stuck in her throat, and she could only wait for him to continue.

"I confess that that gave me such hope – I..." He sighed before looking back at her with a strange mix of pain and hope. "I hardly thought that you would have accepted me before – I asked for courtship too soon, and I knew that from your reply, but... I couldn't help myself. I didn't think that I could have stood to wait." Elizabeth wanted to look away, wanted to hide her confusion, but she couldn't. She had expected him to speak of regrets and of his sorrow – or at least to be blunt. She hadn't expected such tired warmth. She couldn't even truly decide what it was. "And then my Aunt told me of what you had said – and I confess I would have been back here that very day had Bingley not promised to see his sisters somewhere that evening..."

Lizzy could only stare at him mutely for a second, her eyes filling with bizarre tears she couldn't explain. She fought for control – and succeeded of course, years living with her mother had given her an ability to rally from almost anything, no matter how mortifying or strange.

"You... meant to come back?" Her voice sounded strange, even to her own ears. "To continue our courtship?" She couldn't even smile yet, she couldn't quite believe it.

A frown descended with unexpected alacrity. "You doubted that?" He looked as though he were on the verge of pacing, although he didn't act on the impulse. "Do you mean to say that you truly didn't receive any note? Mr Bingley assured me that he had – I assumed that your sisters must have been misinformed but..."

Elizabeth face was fighting a war between confusion and joy. "We have hardly had any correspondence – We had a letter from Georgiana when she had just arrived, but she hadn't seen you then..."

Darcy smiled quickly. "Georgie was quite keen to come back – I have no doubt that she will arrive at Netherfield later this afternoon – no matter what propriety might suggest about her staying with us. She'll claim that Mrs Annesley is companion enough – or why else would I have hired her? – but I know she has written since – perhaps the mail has simply been delayed?"

Lizzy felt her smile fall. "So we would have thought too – except we also received a message from Miss Bingley... – and that wrote of your intentions to remain in town for the entire season."

Darcy paled visibly at that - which was actually quite surprising considering his lack of colour before. That was something that Lizzy had failed to notice before, putting it down to his awkwardness at having to break his word.

"She... I don't ... That is to say I didn't..." All of Darcy's self possession seemed to have deserted him and he was left simply stuttering. Elizabeth wished more than anything that she could simply understand.

"Darcy!" Bingley suddenly boomed, cutting into any semblance of conversation they might have claimed. "Why on earth have you not sat down yet?" He seemed to suddenly recall Lizzy's presence mid speech. "I'm sorry to have interrupted -" he said in the least unapologetic manner that Elizabeth could recall from him. "But you swore to me that..."

Darcy was looking at Bingley with a kind of distant surprise, and Elizabeth rather got the impression that Mr Bingley was not likely to cease for a good while yet.

So instead she, with the impatience she had been trying hard to conceal since she had seen the gentlemen, simply interrupted.

"Shall we not sit down then Mr Darcy?" Her words had the desired effect; Mr Bingley stopped his tirade and Darcy looked at her again. The latter also nodded before walking deliberately towards the bench she indicated, which she hesitantly lowered herself onto as well - grateful for the wide space, allowing her to almost see his features. She needed all the clues that she could find to guess at his emotions.

"I would never have supposed that Miss Bingley could have sent such a note..." Her companion finally allowed - Mr Bingley had backed away once his friend had sat, watching them with vigilance, but clearly far too hesitant to interfere any further. "Nor that you would have had any cause to believe it..." Here he paused once more as though it was difficult to know how to continue. "Unfortunately, I became somewhat... Indisposed... Or at least, unwell..." His frown continued for a second, before his face cleared back into its more normal impassivity. "And Mr Bingley was too good a friend to leave me in London - despite the care of my household - which will have to be his excuse for his negligence to your sister."

Elizabeth, of course, hardly took any of the latter explanation in. Her mind was too busy considering the connotations. From what he had said she could only assume that he had fallen ill nigh on three weeks previously - and yet his unsteadiness on his feet and his distant mien both would suggest an illness now. And for him to have remained in town for that period of time...

"The doctor would not allow you to travel for three weeks?" She couldn't help the shock in her voice - if it were true then that had been no small illness...

Darcy nodded, looking slightly away, almost as though he were ashamed to admit it to her face. "They tell me that I was feverish for most of a week - once they knew I was clear of that the doctor decreed I must remain bedbound for three weeks. Charles would not have let me come here had he not know that I would have made the trip with or without his agreement - I am more than well enough now, whatever the doctor might have said. And now I can only be glad..."

Elizabeth's attempt to hide her surprise must have failed, because he gave her one of his piercing looks. She hardly knew how she looked - her head was still reeling from trying to take it in. No doubt later she would realise the enormity of what he said and the true meaning of the fact that he had been so ill - in so much danger...

Darcy very gently and very hesitantly took her hand, looking the entire time as though he was expecting her to pull it away. Instead, Lizzy smiled slightly, and he took that as reason enough to continue.

"Could you... Did you truly believe that I would not come back? That I didn't intend to return? ..." Lizzy's inability to reply must have been answer enough. "But surely..." It was a strange thing for Darcy to find it so hard to find the words he wanted. "Didn't you... Don't you know that I...?"

He had looked away from her once more, his hand dangerously close from taking its way through his hair.

A moment passed - nothing more - before he looked back at her, letting out his breath and losing most of his agitation.

"I want you to be my wife..." He spoke the words so calmly and matter-of-factly that it hardly even occurred to Lizzy that this could be a proposal. "I've known that much for a long time now - but I didn't want to scare you away - I know that you - that we didn't have the best of starts... But that has been what I've wanted... I could - can - only ask for your courtship - because I don't even know if you would accept that but..."

"Of course I accept..." Lizzy could hardly believe that he would worry on that score it had been so long since she had thought either way on that subject. She knew what she felt for him. "I..."

"Lizzy!" Jane's uncharacteristically shrill voice carried across the gardens with ease.


	3. Chapter 26

"Lizzy!" Jane's uncharacteristically shrill voice carried across the gardens with ease. Still Jane waited, her frame oddly still after the mad dash she had made home from Meryton. A moment later her aunt arrived beside her - a little more dishevelled than was her habit, but still evidently well.

"Jane?!" Lizzy's reply was reassuringly fast. It had occurred to Jane that her sister might have not returned by the time Jane herself did - or even that Lizzy might have made her way inside - but she had predicted otherwise. Her sister had grown a habit over the past few days of walking for her normal length of time, and then aimlessly wandering near to the house, a pensive look on her face. Jane had tried to respect her sister's privacy - Lizzy could keep things just as close to her chest as Jane did at times - but it was still difficult.

It was never easy to see a beloved relation in pain.

"Whatever is the matter?" Lizzy burst into view a moment after her words, and Jane couldn't help her smile at her sister's tone. Lizzy was always so fiercely protective - so determined to fight away whatever might have hurt her. Jane could see it already in her sister's stiff jaw and too rigid posture. Jane had sometimes wondered if her sister even knew she was doing it.

"I just received a letter - because when we were in Meryton we saw the messenger pass by and we thought to ask if there were any for us - in case the letters had been delayed - and they had. I thought they must have been – for why else would Miss Darcy have been so remiss in writing to us?" She was vaguely aware of footsteps nearby, but that hardly mattered. She needed Lizzy to understand. She needed her sister to smile again. "And who should I receive a note from, but Mrs Hurst?"

"Louisa? What on earth could she have had to say?"

The speaker was almost the one she had least expected to speak. She couldn't help wheeling around, with her hands flying to her face to hide her surprise. But it was true. Mr Bingley was standing there, just the same as she remembered – just the same as he had always been.

It took her a moment before she even regained her wits to curtsey and greet him as a gentlewoman should.

If she had had some warning - even the smallest moment more - then she could have been more composed. As it was, she could hardly prevent the shocked smile that forced its way onto her features or the way her eyes mirrored her discomposure. It was frustrating; why should her struggles be most evident to those that mattered most?

"Miss Bennet?" Mr Bingley had taken a step closer to her - heedless of how that cut Lizzy, Mrs Gardiner or Mr Darcy from the conversation. "What did my sister say?"

He sounded truly worried - and somehow that and his clueless and far too kind face provoked her more than she could remember being for a good long while.

"No more than what we should have heard long before." Lizzy's misery in the past few days - and, if Jane was to be honest, her own - had worn down her patience unbelievably. "She wrote to explain your absence from Netherfield - since it had finally come to her attention that no one had done so."

"But, what of Caroline?" Mr Bingley seemed so distressed by Jane's words that she found herself softening easily. She wasn't made for anger - she had never been able to hold grudges, not even when she should. She would have to be more like Lizzy for that. "I asked her every time I saw her to write to you and tell her our news - and she said she was - she even told me she had letters in return from you - although she would not give them to me directly... And I wouldn't have asked for them, for that would have been invading your privacy..."

"And yet Miss Bingley did not once write to me of any true reason for your delay - as Mrs Hurst has now informed me. Although I did write to her on several occasions - supposing her letters to have been lost. Mrs Hurst finally asked Miss Bingley outright about it - since I had asked about how you were all enjoying the season. Miss Bingley simply wrote to say that none of you had any intention of returning until the season had run its course entirely – and that you were greatly enjoying the superior society to be found there."

"She..." Mr Bingley seemed for once lost for words - his normal smile dimmed to nonexistence. Jane almost felt bad for relating the events - but she knew she must. And the pain was no more than he deserved, he had been foolish; could he not see that? "But why would Caroline do such a thing?"

"I could find you the letter should you wish to see it..." Lizzy's voice reminded Jane of their presence once more. A quick glance showed Mr Darcy positioned near enough to Lizzy that Jane could only imagine that they had figured out the true course of events by themselves.

Mr Bingley nodded almost absently, his eyes still fixed on Jane. "What would you have had me do? Would you wish me to distrust everything my sister said to me?" His voice was apologetic and pained, and Jane couldn't dredge up even annoyance at him anymore. His point was justified. What could she have expected? She wouldn't change his amiability, his ability to believe the best of people for anything... and yet...

"I only wish that you might have also written to my father yourself..." Jane could hardly meet his eye. It had hurt that she hadn't known what was happening. It had hurt to think that she might have meant so little to him that it hadn't occurred to him that leaving her in Hertfordshire while he was in town could hurt her. It had hurt to think that their separation might not have upset him at all.

And she knew that wasn't true. She knew now that he hadn't meant to leave her. She knew that.

And indeed, what else would she have expected from him?

He would have never even considered leaving Mr Darcy to the care of his servants. He would have never even thought of abandoning him.

"Jane?" His voice had dipped in volume even more - so that the others might not hear his slight impropriety no doubt. "I promise that I shall do better? Just let me show you? Might you be able to forgive me?"

"Of course." Jane looked at him then, and smiled. She would have told him that he was already forgiven - that he was the minute he returned to her - or near enough, but she knew he wouldn't accept it entirely. She would have to spend time to make him believe he didn't need to atone, just as he would spend his time attempting to do just that.

But somehow, she knew, they would get through it all.

.

Mrs Gardiner, conscious of the hospitality her nieces were forgetting to extend, was quick to invite the two gentlemen inside. What opinion she had formed of the two, she was uncertain. Still, since her nieces seemed disposed to forgive them, she was minded to accept them – for the moment at least.

Mrs Bennet seemed to receive the gentlemen in much the same way – although to greater extremes – one moment she was almost simpering over them and the next she was treating them with a strange distanced civility. Although it seemed the longer they were present and the more distracted they were from Mrs Bennet by her daughters, the happier Mrs Bennet was to receive them and the more effusively she spoke. Indeed it seemed that it would continue this way for the entirety of their visit had Mr Bennet and Mr Gardiner not arrived.

They barely stayed a moment before Mr Bennet invited the younger men to join him in his study. The two gentlemen took it as the order it was and hastily departed. Mr Bennet, it seemed, didn't care so much for the explanations that Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy offered as for the pain that they had caused his eldest and most sensible daughters. This affection to his daughters did allow that they would continue their courtships however – although Mr Bennet also made a point to let them know his feelings upon this decision.

At any rate, Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy left his company with far more respect for Mr Bennet - and much more chastened. Mr Bennet had made it clear to them that they must wait for his approval before the subject of marriage was mentioned again – however much Bingley and Darcy would wish otherwise. Mr Bennet knew too well the stubbornness of his own daughters to suggest anything more drastic.

.

Happy was the day when Georgiana got herself five sisters and an extra brother - for that was how she had determined to view it. The affair was as splendid as could have been imagined - despite Mrs Bennet's many worries and exclamations of distress. In fact, Georgiana had rather begun to feel immune to those, so many had she been witness to since her brother and Elizabeth had announced their engagement,

Her brother, of course, was still his difficult self - not entirely comfortable around Mrs Bennet's raptures or worse those of Mrs Phillips - one of Elizabeth's aunts. But of course Elizabeth had always done her best to shield him from them when they were at their worst, so that hadn't been too frequent an issue.

To be honest, Georgiana didn't know if she would have fared any better had she been under so much scrutiny. As it was, she had often been overlooked by the matron who fawned over their future sons-in-law – she had found refuge with Mary most commonly, while Lizzy and Jane had tried to distract their mother and aunt from enumerating the many virtues of their intendeds as husbands.

Mainly though, the Bennet matriarch had been, in her own way, very good to Georgiana - she had evidently attempted to treat Georgiana as a daughter at times, and Georgie couldn't help but like her for that. The fact that there were times when she was glad she needn't be around her was beside the point.

And then there were the two youngest Bennets, who still bewildered Georgiana with an alarming frequency. They could both be so changeable as to confuse her entirely – One moment they were as ladylike as you would please and acting so as to best display their ability to rival Miss Bingley's civility, Jane's sweetness and Lizzy's wit – and the next they would be laughing at almost nothing and fighting over ribbons and flirting with every man in sight. Georgiana had almost given up on trying to understand them entirely.

In Lizzy she had truly found a sister, there was no other way for her to think of Lizzy now - and she didn't think her brother could have picked her a better one had he search the whole world through - and in Jane and Mary she had made dear friends – it almost made her regret the distance between Hertfordshire and Derbyshire.

Mrs Bennet had had enough of a payment for her insistent ways by the delay between her daughters entering into their courtships and their announcements of their engagements, for, much to her disapproval, these things could only happen in their own time, and not when Mrs Bennet willed them. But the fact that both daughters' engagements were announced within the same week must have made up for that – it was heralded by all as a stroke of singular good fortune.

For her part Georgiana still wanted to know if her brother and Mr Bingley had planned it to be so – but despite her increased closeness with her brother she still hadn't been able to be so impertinent as to ask about that.

It shouldn't have really mattered, for what was most important was that it ended as it did - a marriage between Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet sharing the same ceremony of that of Charles Bingley and Jane Bennet.

And, for most, it was the cause of great joy - Aunt Catherine had decided not to attend the service - which Georgiana could only truthfully admit to being relieved about - but Miss Bingley had.

Mr Bingley, shortly after his return to Netherfield, had summoned his sister to call upon him, and in what seemed to be a sudden show of resolution he had quite vehemently expressed his disapproval in her attempts to separate Jane from him. Eventually he had threatened to completely cut her allowance and send her away to other relatives if she were not to accept Jane as his future sister.

Miss Bingley, albeit somewhat gracelessly, had accepted the weddings without further complaint.

Mrs Hurst at least had tried to make the best of it. She had made a point to talk to Jane and Elizabeth once more - and Jane at least had accepted her as a close friend. Georgiana had still felt her reservation about the older woman - it was hard, she supposed to get over such feelings of fear.

The Fitzwilliams all made a show of support of their nephew by coming. Georgiana had been keen in her praise of Elizabeth the weeks she had stayed with them in town, and she liked to think that that had predisposed them to approve of the marriage. The fact that her Aunt had also been trying to see Darcy married for the past five years, may have played a part, but Georgiana was somewhat remorseless to admit that she liked to take the credit. Colonel Fitzwilliam had even managed to find time away from his regiment to come – and Georgiana began to worry she had spent rather too much time near to Mrs Bennet when she found herself idly matchmaking for him.

Mrs Annesley too was in attendance - Georgiana was sure she would miss the dear woman. For her companion had decided that as soon as the new Mr and Mrs Darcy returned from their wedding tour, Georgiana would no longer need her.

Mrs Annesley had seen her through so much that it seemed odd to lose her, but as the new couples were announced and led the way to the carriages for the wedding breakfast, Georgiana couldn't help but reflect that she wouldn't change a thing. Not when all those she loved could end up so utterly and totally happy.


End file.
